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Those words delivered, Officer Miller spun away and walked toward the elevator at a fast clip. Jill watched him go; her brow still faintly furrowed. When he finally disappeared into the elevator and the doors slid shut, obscuring him completely, Jill let out a long breath and shook her head.
“That had to be the strangest interaction I’ve ever had with anyone,” she observed. Her gaze dropped to his tail, and a smile curled the corners of her lips. “And you have a tail!”
He chuckled softly and drew it closer to his leg once more, the aquila flattening once more along its length in response. “I do. We are not supposed to have our tails on display while on duty. Among other Geminidae, it can inspire hostility since it is how we issue challenge to rivals, so it is considered unprofessional as well as potential vulnerability. I reacted poorly to Officer Miller’s behavior toward you, for which I’m relieved that none of my superiors were present to see.”
She laughed softly but as she looked back up at Brydis, the smile she dredged up didn’t quite meet her eyes and his heart ached. He hated the fact that their time together was so suddenly cut short.
“I guess you guys have a new home now. That’s wonderful.”
He nodded, his tail lashing faintly against his leg in agitation. “It is. It’s very good news,” he agreed. “It seems that negotiations went quicker than command had anticipated.”
Just rotations ago, he would have been elated at that fact, but now that he had found Jill, he felt considerably cheated of the days they could have had together.
“Perhaps we can—” her voice was cut off by the sharp bark of orders suddenly broadcasting through the communication device strapped to his wrist.
They both looked down at it and he grimaced as she looked up at him questioningly.
“Orders to return to the ship,” he said grimly.
“Oh,” she murmured, her head turning away from him as her gaze trailed down the corridor, searching for a glimpse of Agor, he was certain.
“He will be here soon. He wouldn’t leave without seeing you first,” he assured her.
“Well, it’s the only way off this level,” she observed with a weak laugh that held not a drop of humor to it. Her gaze softened, however, when it returned to him. “I can’t even imagine why I’m so sad. This all feels surreal.”
He chuckled sadly. “I understand.”
“You won’t go just yet, will you? You will stay for a minute while we wait for Agor, right?” she asked as she peered up at him hopefully.
“I will remain right here until he arrives,” he assured her softly, ignoring his commanding officer’s demand for confirmation.
For once, he was breaking the rules, and he was doing it for himself. His wing stretched and affectionately cupped around her as he allowed himself to savor his final moment with her. It was an expression of familiarity that she hadn’t given him permission for, but he was unable to help himself. To his pleasure, she didn’t startle as she might once have. If she had, he would have pulled back to a respectful distance that she was more comfortable with. Rather, she glanced at the bright red feathers fanning around her with admiration, and he shivered as she trailed a finger along one long red feather.
His eyes slid closed as he was momentarily lost in bliss and the dance of his taliazon with hers. His feathers puffed out with awareness at his twin’s arrival, and he didn’t bother to even open his eyes as he made room for the male to crowd in close with them. They stood together, softly whispering their goodbyes. Agor’s grief was keen and when Brydis opened his eyes at last, he could see it clearly on the other male’s face. As much as he tried to hide it from Jill, Agor couldn’t hide it from him.
“Agor and Brydis Aignidas, you have twenty minutes to return to your stations onboard Zarkanida before I send a team after you. And you better have a good excuse for this delay,” their aerhal barked furiously.
Sighing, Brydis gave Jill one last longing look before he stepped back, reluctantly putting distance between them. Agor followed suit, his wings twitching and ruffling anxiously as he cast doubtful looks toward Brydis. Brydis shook his head in warning. They couldn’t disobey these orders any more than they already had. Zherist had no sense of humor to speak of and never said anything he didn’t mean. Agor knew this and had heard the orders just as explicitly over his own communication device. A defeated look crossed his twin’s face, and he nodded in acceptance as he, too, stepped back.
Jill regarded them through wet eyes as the smile she tried so valiantly to maintain wobbled. She dashed a hand against her cheek, swiping at its wetness. “I’m being silly, I know. This has all been wonderful, but it’s not like this is goodbye forever if we don’t want it to be.” She chuckled softly, though it was clearly strained and held no true humor behind it. “This is going to be a whole new adventure for all of us and here I am turning on the waterworks.”
She dragged in a deep breath and stepped back in the direction of the hall that he knew would take her back to her quarters. “You guys better go. I couldn’t understand what was being said but it sounded like he meant business. But do look me up sometime when you get settled on Ganymede, okay?”
Agor nodded fervently and he moved forward to briefly clasp her hand in his, allowing their taliazon to merge once more—something that, at his current height of emotion, Brydis could not bear to do again.
“We won’t be parted long, I swear,” he murmured.
She gave them a doubtful look, but Brydis gave her an encouraging smile when her gaze turned in his direction.
“We will find you as soon as we can. Have no doubt about that,” he assured her as he began to herd his twin toward the elevator.
His eyes never left her, nor did those of his twin the entire way to the elevator, and even when they stepped inside, she was the last thing they saw before the doors closed, taking them away from her. That last glimpse would have to sustain them until they found her again. He smiled grimly to himself. He had little doubt that it wouldn’t be as soon as he liked. That belief was confirmed when the door opened once more, and he met the disapproving gaze of the number of warriors sent to collect them. Agor peered at them with disdainful amusement.
“All this for us?” he queried with a brittle laugh.
The warrior at the head of the group, Khevian, made a sound of disgust and shook his head. “I should have guessed it was you two. It’s always you two. You’ve really done it this time. Zherist received word from an Officer Miller. You are both in a lot of trouble. Don’t expect to enjoy your new life on Ganymede any time soon. Your lives are going to be in Zherist’s claws.”
For now, Brydis silently amended. The male would make them work off whatever infraction he believed they committed but they would eventually be released. And then they would devote all that they were to courting Jill.
